M6.4 earthquake 148 km NW of Fangale’ounga, Tonga
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 148 km NW of Fangale’ounga, Tonga on Fri, Jan 19, 2024, 11:12 AM GMT+13 (22:12 UTC), 209 km (130 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mww, W-phase moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2024-01-18 22:12:21 UTC
- Depth
- 209.0 km (129.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.910° S, 175.423° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Felt reports
- 4
- Strongest shaking
- IV, light shaking
- PAGER alert
- Green
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.4 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.038 · 66 stations |
| 6.3 | Mi | NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center | Reviewed · 10 stations |
| 6.4 | Mi | NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center | First automatic solution · Reviewed · 9 stations |
| 6.3 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
| 6.4 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
| 6.4 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS, automatic first solution | First automatic solution · Confirmed |
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- IV, light shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 1.7% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 1.1 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
4 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.
Estimated impact
The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.
- Alert level
- Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected
| Range | Chance |
|---|---|
| Under 1 | 65% |
| 1 to 10 | 30% |
| 10 to 100 | 4% |
| 100 to 1,000 | Under 1% |
| 1,000 to 10,000 | Under 1% |
| 10,000 to 100,000 | Under 1% |
| 100,000 to 10,000,000 | Under 1% |
| Range, million USD | Chance |
|---|---|
| Under 1 | 65% |
| 1 to 10 | 30% |
| 10 to 100 | 4% |
| 100 to 1,000 | Under 1% |
| 1,000 to 10,000 | Under 1% |
| 10,000 to 100,000 | Under 1% |
| 100,000 to 10,000,000 | Under 1% |
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Oblique normal
- Moment magnitude
- 6.4 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 272°, dip 44°, rake -49°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 42°, dip 58°, rake -122°
- Landslide alert
- Green
- Liquefaction alert
- Green
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 9.8 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
- Station coverage gap
- 22°
- Stations used
- 121
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.4 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5201 km WNW of Fangale’ounga, Tonga · 973 days ago · 169 km deep · 61 km away
- 5.367 km NW of Fangale’ounga, Tonga · 955 days ago · 115 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.591 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 953 days ago · 10 km deep · 64 km away
- 4.758 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 953 days ago · 99 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.4204 km WNW of Pangai, Tonga · 950 days ago · 273 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.4181 km WNW of Fangale’ounga, Tonga · 947 days ago · 207 km deep · 42 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000m4js (also filed as usauto6000m4js, pt24018002). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 7:07 PM UTC.